August 2020
Volume 2 Issue 10
THE CHARTROOM
Twice a month travel news from Charting Memories Travel
We are expanding!
Since our last issue of the Chart Room, we at Charting Memories have been busy expanding our product and vendor options. When I started my first travel agency a little over 8 years ago, I focused on cruise vacations. Over the years, I have branched out to theme parks and some results. I have wanted to do more, but as we all know, time and energy are limited.
The events of this year have given me the opportunity to spend more time familiarizing myself with travel options that I wanted to offer you. The major cruise brands have always been a major part of our business but this year we have greatly expanded our small ship options. Land-based experiences are becoming a bigger and bigger part of our offerings as well.
As a travel advisor, I believe that it is important that I have personal relationships with the companies and vendors that I work with. You will not hear me say that Charting Memories is an expert in all travel options. What you will hear is that I have personal connections with people and vendors that can help get you exactly what you want.
Your trip is exactly that, it is your trip. My job is to match your desires, expectations, and budget to the appropriate product. Eight people on a skippered yacht is going to provide a different experience than 4000 people on one of the newest megaships. Beaches, Hard Rock, Sandals, Hedonism and Club Med are all All-Inclusive resorts, but they are not all the same type of vacation. A Glamping Safari in Kenya is very different than tent camping in Yellowstone National Park. We work together to make sure that you get the experience that you want.
I value the connections that I have made over the years. I don’t want to be searching Google for a contact at a resort to help fix an unexpected issue. When picking the appropriate accommodations, I don’t want to shift through hundreds of opinions on the internet. While I have access to nearly every vendor and location in the world, I work with a limited number so that I do have the personal connections that make me different than Google and a toll-free number to some big box store or well-advertised national travel company who does business through call centers and email. I talk to many of my vendors on a weekly basis. I have had cake and conversation with the CEOs of some of the best known cruise lines in the world. Company representatives join me when I do presentations and events. These direct connections help me as well as my clients.
Even with the current pandemic, there are many open travel options. There are great promotions to help encourage you to plan your trip now even if you don’t plan on traveling for a year or more. One of my current favorites is the ability to purchase a voucher now that allows you to pick a date in 2020 or 2021 to go to one of the Hard Rock All-Inclusive Resorts. Names of the travelers are not required so a voucher can be given as a gift or used as a business incentive. The voucher is even refundable! I have personally taken advantage of this so some time next year you should my pictures and review. I just need to decide when and where to go and to convince someone to come along.
Do yourself a favor and plan a trip. We all need something to look forward to. Having something fun and exciting in the future will help counteract all the negativity that we are bombarded with every day. We can make our own happiness.
Contact me so that we can start planning your next big adventure.
Keep Charting Memories!
Drew
